The Voice 2014: Ding ding round two, the battles get fierce and all eyes are on Kylie

Second week of The Voice Battle Rounds and it was last chance saloon for half of the acts as they had to be sent home by their own coaches. This week it was only the uncomfortable Kylie left with the possibility of a steal so the tension was high and there were a few tears. Harsh yes, but great to watch! Also this week there was plenty of fun banter between Ricky and Will to enjoy…

First into the ring was Team Ricky pitching Chris Royal against rock frontman Jamie Lovatt to sing Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’ and as Ricky himself said it was certainly power vs emotion as the two of them screeched and shrieked their way around the stage. It certainly was an exciting performance to kick the show off but it was falsetto Chris who beat the Jagger stylings of Jamie and powered through to the next round. Ricky said it was the ‘toughest decision he had made so far’.

Jamie Lovatt rocks out as Chris Royal belts it out (Picture: BBC)

Team Kylie fielded Rachael O’Connor and Amelia O’Connell – who let’s not forget got all of the coaches crying in the blind audition – to sing the unusual choice of Jay-Z’s Holy Grail. A very proud Kylie loved their beautiful, stripped back version which even included a bit of rapping! Surprisingly she chose Rachael and with no other coaches having a steal left it meant that Amelia had to leave the show which personally I think was the wrong choice but there we go, I’m not Kylie.

Amelia was robbed! (Picture: BBC)

Battle ready Burlesque singer Kiki de Ville took on the rather more timid James Byron to sing ‘Because the Night’ for Team Will. The theatrical twosome certainly put on a good show and their coach said they ‘were some of the best people’ on his team, he then took a tour of the studio to have a think about what to do before picking James to go through. Good sport Kiki revealed the ‘boylesque’ name for Will ‘Will-de-beast’ – nice! – and pleaded with fellow Showgirl Kylie to steal her but it wasn’t to be.

Kiki de Ville shows us how it’s done but it’s James Byron who wins this battle (Picture: BBC)

Tom Jones picked Amy Winehouse fan Melissa Gill to sing against Vicky Jones (Dougie McFly’s sister) – their first song choice didn’t work out which must have knocked them a bit – but Tom had a rethink and chose Pink’s ‘Just Give Me A Reason’ for the girls to sing instead. They worked it out and gave a credible (if slightly forgettable) performance and Tom chose Melissa to go through to the Knockouts.

Melissa wins the battle of the redheads (Picture: BBC)

Martial artist Max Murphy took on fellow guitarist Miles Evans to sing The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ which is a bit of a big ask and poor Miles didn’t even know the song very well – much to Ricky’s surprise. But everyone loved their modern version and it was a tough choice for Ricky who eventually chose the more unusual voiced Max to make it through. Sad faces all round as the unassuming Miles had to go home.

Max and Miles rock a Beatles song (Picture: BBC)

Two old fashioned jazz singers next as Cherri Prince and Sophie May Williams sang The Cure’s ‘Lovecats’ and it was a super choice for these two as they got to scat and trill all over it. They also both looked incredibly beautiful and put on a very classy performance – in fact it was the battle of the night for me – but it was Sophie May who stayed on Team Will.

Lovecats Cherri and Sophie May come over all vintage (Picture: BBC)

Jamie Johnson and Joe Keegan have become firm friends on Team Kylie but had to take each other on in battle singing ‘Counting Stars’. It was a very positive, fun performance but Kylie could only take one singer through and after a difficult deliberation chose Jamie, but the pair hugged it out and promised they would remain close.

Mates Joe and Jamie have to battle each other (Picture: BBC)

A little masterclass from Will.i.am next as he coached shy Iesher Haughton into looking more animated when she took to the stage with the smooth Femi Santiago to sing ‘Stop, Look, Listen’. Their vocals were outstanding and it was a dreamy few minutes, Will said he was ‘blown away’ by the two of them and shouldn’t have pitted them against each other. Tom Jones – after reminding us that he knew Diana Ross – said that Iesher brought something fresh to the song and her coach did indeed choose her to move forward. Will agreed the only reason he had left Femi go was because he already had Jermain to compete with him.

But the stylish Femi serenaded Kylie with a sung plea for her last steal and it worked as the female coach accepted him on to her team. But she admitted she would have turned for him anyway – even without the serenade – because naughty Kylie had her sights set on Femi from the start. But with the final steal gone it means we move on without any more second chances as the show became one in, one out – but at least the pressure was finally off of Kylie.

Leverne loses her place on Team Tom after this battle with Georgia (Picture: BBC)

Adele’s cousin Georgia Harrup battled against Leverne Scott-Roberts on Team Tom singing Taylor Swift’s ’22’ and there was certainly no love lost between the pair on or off screen. Leverne admitted she struggled with the song as she couldn’t relate to it being a bit older and the coach did indeed take the younger Georgia through.

Jade takes on the twins and wins (Picture: BBC)

A threesome next as twin double act Gemyni sang ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ against the sexy Jade Mayjean Peters. It was all a little loud and uncomfortable but the three of them certainly gave it their all. But it was Jade who took the final available space on Team Kylie.

And looking to take the final space on Team Tom music teacher Gary Poole and Elesha Paul Moses entered the ring to sing Usher’s ‘Caught Up’. They worked well together as a duo and the song was funky and soulful, Tom said that if they carried on as a pair it would suit him better but sadly he did have to make a decision and plumped for Gary, meaning that Elesha once again was sent home after the Battle rounds (remember she was part of unsuccessful girl group Nu-tarna last year).

Jazz and Luciee Marie step up for the final song of the night (Picture: BBC)

The final battle of the night took place between Jazz Bates-Chambers and Luciee Marie Closier (is it me or is there a rather lot of acts with three names this year?) as they sang Bruno Mars’ ‘Grenade’. The pairing got off to a bit of a rocky start as the quirky Luciee Marie admitted her love for Katy B during the rehearsals and put Jazz’s nose out of joint a bit with her effusive display of fandom to the guest coach. And so it was a perfect battle to finish the show as the two worked hard to outsing the other. It was fierce. It was aggressive. All coaches admitted they would have used a steal for this battle because both are fantastic singers but it was Jazz’s powerful voice which won out.

A night of highs and lows as the final teams were formed and some great singers had to go home. But now we have four teams of seven to go through to the Knockout rounds next week when it gets even tougher…